Raft-Away River

Raft-Away River is an educational co-operative multiplayer game that can be played by two to six players. The game takes place on the banks of a river and following a rafting calamity the players have to work together to find a way to safety. The only way to escape is by the river and therefore a raft has to be built. The problem is that there is not enough timber on the west side of the river where the survivors reside and therefore they have to build a bridge to reach the forest on the east bank of the river. At the same time the players have to think of shelter and food to avoid starving. There is also the threat of rainy weather that can cause the river to flood.

The game is played on a single screen that shows an overview of the river and the river banks. The players start out in a cave and are controlled by pressing keyboard keys A to U. Each key corresponds to a certain command that causes the character to move to a location or interact with the environment. Players take turns playing and for each turn one command can be issued. Four items are assigned to the players (axe, fishing line, matches and rope) and can be used to cut wood, catch fish, light a fire and build bridges or the raft. Only the player with the right item can do a task and therefore cooperation is necessary. Eating is necessary since most tasks can't be done while starving. Food sources are fish that has to be cooked on the fireplace and berries that can be collected from bushes on the east bank. Berries can make the players sick though and then they have to go and rest in the cave before doing anything else.